Windham Orchestra: Ode to Joy
Sunday, June 12, 3 pm
Brattleboro Retreat Lawn (Rain location: Latchis Theatre), Brattleboro, VT
In an outdoor setting, with a program that spans classical and new world works, the Windham Orchestra, under the direction of Hugh Keelan, presents the premier performance of Derrik Jordan's Windham Loops with Impulse Ensemble; and Beethoven's iconic Symphony No. 9, “Ode to Joy”, with the Windham Festival Chorus.
Tickets:
Seated Admission $25 (Chairs)
Lawn Admission $12 (no seating provided)
Student & Senior Lawn Admission $10 (no seating provided)
Tickets are available by calling the BMC at 802-257-4523
Online at BrattleboroTix
Or in Brattleboro at Maple Leaf Music, In the Moment, and Turn it up
FOOD: Anon Thai, Newfane Gelato and Lemonade, Hardy Foard Catering, Betz Baking, and Commonwealth Yogurt will be selling food and refreshments. No alcohol permitted on Retreat grounds.
This concert is funded in part by a grant from the MetLife Creative Connections program of Meet the Composer, Inc. and the New England Foundation for the Arts, with additional support from the six New England state arts agencies and the National Endowment for the Arts.
MORE ABOUT THE CONCERT:
Windham Orchestra: Ode to Joy
On Sunday, June 12, in a dramatic outdoor setting, the Windham Orchestra will present a newly commissioned work fusing classical and world music, together with one of the most iconic works of the Western classical repertoire.
During “Ode to Joy”, as the concert is aptly titled, Director Hugh Keelan takes the audience on a journey through a myriad of cultures and human experiences as the Orchestra presents the world premier of Derrik Jordan's Windham Loops with Impulse Ensemble; and Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Windham Festival Chorus.
“The program we offer is exciting and relevant for all people, all places and all times,” says Keelan.
The concert will be performed at the Brattleboro Retreat on the lawn in front of Lawton Hall, with its gorgeous balconies and clock tower. The balconies will house the Windham Festival Chorus rehearsed by Susan Dedell, and Lawton Hall will be the backdrop for the Windham Orchestra; vocal soloists soprano Kate Saik, alto Jenna Rae, tenor James Anderson, and baritone Andrew Semegram; and the visually impressive wall of gongs and percussion that is part of Impulse Ensemble.
The Orchestra commissioned local composer and performing celebrity in many musical genres Derrik Jordan to compose the piece now know as “Windham Loops” for Impulse Ensemble and the Windham Orchestra.
Derrik Jordan is an award-winning composer and singer-songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, recording artist and teacher. He plays 5 string electric violin, percussion, guitar and keyboards. He has a B.A. in Music from Bennington College (1977) where he studied composition with Henry Brant, Vivian Fine and Otto Luening. He also studied there with master drummer Milford Graves who introduced him to the music of Africa, Latin America and Asia. He began his musical journey as a singer-songwriter and still performs in many bands.
“My current musical passion is composing world fusion/classical music where I marry my many world, jazz and pop musical influences with the classical world by composing for orchestras and chamber groups. ‘Windham Loops’ is divided into four movements with four two-minute improvisational solos between movements for the featured soloists of Impulse Ensemble on their unusual instruments,” explains Jordan.
The movements themselves contain a wide range of influences ranging from Indian and Middle Eastern fusion to Pygmy polyphonic singing, American funk and the music of Bali. The purpose is to carry the listener on a journey influenced by a wide range of world music styles.
“My creative process entails listening and opening myself to various styles of music and then letting myself be influenced, creating melodies, harmonies and rhythms that are inspired by that listening,” continues Jordan.
Impulse Ensemble features Tony Vacca on Balafon and percussion, Jim Matus on Laoutar (electric Greek Lute or Laouto) and Derrik Jordan on the Five String Electric Violin.
There are many moments in the piece where the trio is asked to improvise over the orchestra but there are also places where the orchestra takes the role of “soloist” and Impulse Ensemble becomes the rhythm section and is integrated into the overall texture.
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, known as the 'Choral' or the 'Ode to Joy,’ is considered one of the greatest musical compositions ever written. In it the composer addresses the highest hopes, struggles and gratifications of the human condition. It is a powerful human narrative, a challenging journey, but more certain of its destination, more elevated in its aspirations than maybe anything that had been written before.
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony occupies an iconic place in cultures far beyond the one called 'classical music'. We hear the 'Ode to Joy' in commercials and pop-culture references, it saturates education systems, it was an essential accompaniment to the fall of the Berlin Wall and A Clockwork Orange; the Rainbow Theater in London (where Hendrix burnt his first guitar) would always play the Ninth at the end of a rock concert. These are easy examples of the diversity this work gathers around itself.
The symphony was the first example of a major composer using voices in a symphony (thus making it a choral symphony). The words are sung during the final movement by four vocal soloists and a chorus. They were taken from the "Ode to Joy", a poem written by Friedrich Schiller in 1785 and revised in 1803, with additions made by the composer.
The first movement deals with mystery, suffering and the possibility of transcendence, not yet the reality. The fast Scherzo, placed second, is sharply funny, briefly consoling, but seems especially interested in making vividly present a demonic energy and life force. The third movement, Adagio molto e cantabile, also deeply mysterious, speaks of solace and deepest calm. Each of these elements must be experienced and accepted for the transcendent to become manifest in the incredible finale.
The collaboration between the Windham Orchestra and Brattleboro Retreat extends well beyond the outdoor setting of the concert, into the heart of the Retreat’s work, as the Orchestra serves a residency in the weeks leading up to the performance. The Retreat has long recognized the arts as an important aspect of life and a significant part of the treatment of mental health disorders and addictions. During the Orchestra's residency at the Retreat, musicians will be engaging with young and adolescent patients on a weekly basis, and Impulse Ensemble will present a special performance for patients in early June.
“Ode to Joy” with the Windham Orchestra, Impulse Ensemble and Windham Festival Chorus will take place on Sunday, June 12, 3 pm, at the Brattleboro Retreat in Brattleboro, Vermont. The Latchis Theatre will serve as the rain location.
This concert is funded in part by a grant from the MetLife Creative Connections program of Meet the Composer, Inc. and the New England Foundation for the Arts, with additional support from the six New England state arts agencies and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Tickets:
Seated Admission $25 (Chairs)
Lawn Admission $12 (no seating provided)
Student & Senior Lawn Admission $10 (no seating provided)
Tickets are available by calling the BMC at 802-257-4523
Online at BrattleboroTix
Or in Brattleboro at Maple Leaf Music, In the Moment, and Turn it up |
